The Candle Chronicles

Part 2

I was working in my home office the other day when Ed returned from the grocery store. He sheepishly brought the bag in and placed it beside me.

“Oh, Ed, You didn’t!”

“I thought we might be running low.”

It’s that time of year again. Soon family and friends will gather for the holidays. My husband Ed and I live a distance from family. We always get together for Christmas, but often were alone on Thanksgiving. A few years ago we started a new tradition of inviting friends, who find themselves in a similar situation over for a “Friendsgiving” celebration. Avoiding the typical turkey dinner, Ed, the resident chef, comes up with one of his signature dishes and others pitch in with deserts and sides. The menu varies from year to year, and we never know who gather at the table, but there is one thing you can count on: THERE WILL BE CANDLES ON THE TABLE!

The Candle Obsession

I’m unsure when my candle obsession began. I first “came out” in a previous post https://seamslikeastory.com/tall-candle-dinners/ . I remember when our children were small, Ed and I would have “date night” each Saturday night. We couldn’t afford a babysitter, so we would feed the kids early and have a nice candlelight dinner after they went to bed, or sat them in front of the TV with a movie. Now empty nesters, we still light candles, for special occasions, and everyday dinners as well. Even when it’s leftovers or we think we don’t have much to talk about, the ritual of lighting the candles seems to say “This time together is important.”

A Lot of Candles

So, yes. This takes a lot of candles. I’m picky, but through trial and error, I’ve found the perfect ones. I kind of don’t want to tell you about them because I’m afraid you’ll get to Trader Joe and buy out their limited stock.

OK, here goes, but don’t tell anybody else: My favorite off-white, non drip inexpensive candles are only available seasonally between Thanksgiving and Christmas and during that time we buy enough to get us through the year. I tell Ed to only buy a few boxes at a time, so as not to cause alarm. So far he has flown under the radar, but I live in fear that there will one day be a poster at the cash registers with his photo and a warning: Don’t sell any more candles to this man.

The other day I took inventory and told Ed I thought we had enough and maybe he didn’t need to buy any this year.(I currently have 20 boxes x 8 candles per box…you do the math) He bought some anyway. I think we might have to add this bounty to our will as part of our “estate.” A legacy of wax and wick to leave to our children.

Gather Together

So my friends, take some time this holiday season to gather around the table with friends and loved ones. Go ahead, light some tall candles and stay until they melt into tiny stubs! Clink your wine, or iced tea, or water glasses together and let each other know how happy you are to be together. These are the times that matter most.